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Dinner at the Ronald McDonald House

Saturday night we, once again, prepared dinner for the Ronald McDonald House of Portland. There are two such houses in town, and are a continuing inspiration to us.

The houses were created in 1982 by several organizations that realized that families whom had to travel to Portland so their sick children could get treatment at OHSU and Doernbecher Childrens Hospital had no comfortable and convenient place to stay. The west side house offers 17 room and the east side 16 rooms. Both are very comfortable with full kitchens, living rooms, and a semblance of a home, so, even while families spend much of their time at the hospital they have a place to spend their free time. We have friends who, unfortunately, have spent many days staying at the West Side house and, while visiting them two years ago, we found out about the fantastic program where people provide meals for the house so the families also get some home cooking.

For past dinners we had friends pitching in but this time it was just the two of us. Jim was a master of the salad bar and garlic bread:

While I handled the spaghetti & meatballs.

As always, the experience inspired and humbled us. There were quite a few families coming and going during the course of our preparation and speaking to them about their children at the hospital only brought home how incredibly lucky we are to have our health. How they continue to go on and hold up under the pressure they are under is a remarkable testament to human strength.